One of those days
by Jadely
Summary: After a fight with Tooty, Kazooie runs off, mad and upset. Maybe its time for some rediscovering? New fixed version.
1. One of those days

It was another beautiful morning in Spiral Mountain when Kazooie woke from her sleep. She yawned, and, giving her wings a good stretch, looked around with a smile. Everything seemed to be as usual- Banjo's loud snoring echoing through the room, the fish nervously swimming around it's tank, the sun shining through the window, a cool breeze ruffling her feathers, peace and quiet…

"Peace and quiet?" she thought aloud. "Something's not right." Hoping out of Banjo's backpack, she headed straight for the door. "I wonder what that annoying fluff ball is destroying this time." A faint clang from behind the door made her jump. "Tooty?" she called as she opened the door and peered into the kitchen. It wasn't destroyed, or even a mess, much to her surprise. But something wasn't right, and she knew it.

"Alright, flea bag, I know you're here so you may as just well come out…" A nervous silence filled the air, instinctively proving to her that the bear was up to something. Whatever it was, Kazooie decided she didn't want to be part of it. "Okay then… maybe I'll just, uh… start breakfast! Uh-oh! Would you look at that! There's no honey left…" she shuddered silently. Though she would never admit it, she was nervous. She had always had a respectable dislike and even a slight fear of the girly cub.

Especially when she was alone with her.

Swallowing hard, she continued. "I guess I better go outside and-"

"Not so fast, Kazooie!" interrupted Tooty, jumping from behind a chair. "I'd like that story now." She staggered toward Kazooie, net in hand. Her eyes twitched madly and a devious smile played it's way onto her lips.

"_Wayy to much coffee," _noted Kazooie mentally. She cleared her throat. "Look, I've told you thousands of times. I'm not telling you that story! And I thought I told Banjo to hide the coffee from-"

"HA!!" Yelled Tooty as she charged at Kazooie. "You'll have no choice once I catch you!"

"I'd like to see you try!" laughed Kazooie, quickly jumping out of the raging bears' path and toward to the fireplace.

"You can run but you can't hide!!!_"_ The crazed cub ran after her. Kazooie, in turn, flew to the chair on the opposite side of the room, forgetting it was missing a leg.

"You'd better stay away or I'll use my grenade eggs on yo- eee!!!" She yelled as the chair collapsed, dropping her to the floor. "Doesn't Banjo ever fix anything around here!"

"Gotch'a now, Kaz!" squealed Tooty, running toward the dazed bird, ready to throw the net over her. Thinking fast, Kazooie rolled under the table and ran back to the stove. "Darn it Kazooie!! STAY STILL!!"

"Over here, slowpoke!" Despite the situation, Kazooie couldn't help but tease the bear a little. However, the angry look on Tooty's face quickly made her regret it. She could have sworn stream was poking its way out of her ears- something Banjo had warned her about. Of course, she had laughed at the thought then, but now- now it was time to call for back up.

"BANJO!!!!!!!"

Thinking she saw an opportunity, Tooty charged towards her and threw the net, but Kazooie ducked just in time, sending the net flying over her head and right on top of Banjo's, who had come rushing in after hearing Kazooie scream. Still half asleep, he watched it flutter onto his head.

"Anyone care to explain?" he asked as he held back a yawn and examined the once clean kitchen, now covered with soot and broken objects. They both burst out trying to explain what had happened, but only left him more confused. "One at a time!" he yelled over the confusion while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It was going to be one of those days.

"I'll explain," began Kazooie, glaring at Tooty when she opened her mouth to try to speak again. "When woke up just a minute ago and heard how quiet it was, I knew this freak," she sent a finger flying in Tooty's direction, "was up to something. So, I came out to see what she was doing and she attacked me!"

Banjo turned to Tooty as he took the net off his head. "Tooty, why were you attacking her?"

"Well"… began Tooty. "I want to hear a story, but every time I ask Kazooie to tell me one, she alllllways says no! So I thought that if I could catch her she would give up and tell me!"

Kazooie groaned. "You want _**me**_ to give up!_"_ She let out an annoyed huff. _"_For the last time, I am not telling you the story! I've got better things to do than sit around all day and-"

"What story do you want to hear, Tooty?" Banjo knew this would never stop if he didn't end it now.

"I want to know how you can Kazooie met!" demanded Tooty. The room became unusually quiet. Banjo, who had seemed to suddenly wake up, began looking around the room, unsure of what to do. Kazooie also stopped talking and went into a rare state of silence. She closed her eyes, as if to let her mind cool. Yet there was no doubt that her anger was still bubbling.

"Well… uhh…" mumbled Banjo.

"Well!?" questioned Tooty rather impatiently. She looked from Kazooie to Banjo. "I want to hear it!"

"I don't know Tooty…" he glanced at Kazooie nervously. "I don't think-"

"No," interrupted Kazooie, her eyes opened and fixed blazingly on Tooty. "There is no story. That's that. Now why don't you go be a nuisance somewhere else for once?" Without another word, she was out the door.

"Kazooie!" Banjo called after her. "C'mon Kazooie, don't be like that!" He sighed. _Why did she have to do this? _He turned to Tooty and rubbed his cheek thoughtfully. "I'm going after her. Why don't you go play with Bottles? He'll tell you a story."

"But why-"

"Maybe another time, Tooty," Banjo sighed again and looked at the ground. "I'll be back in a while." He gave her the best reassuring smile he could muster, trudged back into his room to grab his backpack and took off. "It's just gonna be one of those days…"

Top of Form


	2. Promises

If there was one thing that helped Kazooie cool off, it was flying. So naturally, that was the first thing she did once out the door. She let the wind push its way under her wings, and then through her feathers, making her shiver and giving her goose bumps. But still, she couldn't fully relax knowing that she was anywhere near Tooty. Banjo had asked her over and over to try to be nicer, but they both knew it definitely wasn't her stronger point. "Stupid kid," she thought. "What dose she know anyway? All she does is play that stupid flute thing and boss me around and sing and skip and whine when she doesn't get her way!" Still grumbling, she landed at the entrance to the Isle O' Hags. Taking a deep breath, she continued her train of thought. "I need to get out of here and cool off," she decided. "Maybe go let off some steam on those stupid goons of Grunty's." She walked through the dark tunnel and into Jinjo village, instantly noticing the crowd of Jinjos gathered around the remains of the Grey Jinjos' house. King Jingaling was standing on one of the larger pieces of the ruins before the group and waving his hands around, obviously trying quite hard to get their attention. "Must be starting a clean-up," she mumbled to herself.

"…and team two, take this half of the house," yelled the King to the restless group of Jinjos. "Alright, let's go!" At that, they separated into their groups and set off to clean. As he turned around to pick up one of the broken windows frames laying on the ground, he noticed Kazooie walking up the path.

But not before the rest of the Jinjos.

"Heyyyyyyy!!" happily exclaimed the crowd of Jinjos as they saw her walking toward them. It had become their way of thanking and saluting their "saviors" for all they had done.

"Alright, guys," called the King, and they returned to their jobs. "Hey there Kazooie!" he called to her. "Wha'cha up to?"

"Out for a walk," she replied, still grumpy. But for the moment, she decided to try to forget about it. The last thing she wanted was other people knowing about her personal problems. She couldn't stand others fawning and cooing over her. "How's the clean-up party coming?"

"Oh, so far so good," he looked through the window at Kazooie, sighed, then set it down. "It's going to take a while, though. We all are rather small… But eventually, we're going to rebuild the house. See, amazingly enough, we found the baby Grey Jinjo out in the woods. We have no idea how it survived, or how it even got there in the first place, but its sure one heck of a miracle. So, we'll rebuild the house. That way, when it gets old enough, it will have a home."

"Oh… how's the little guy?" she asked absently mindlessly.

"Girl, actually. And she's doing just fine. A couple of scrapes and bruises here and there- but she'll be fine."

"Uh huh…" Kazooie trailed off. Thoughts of her own childhood were coming back to her.

_Flashback_

_The sky had seemed to be continually getting darker to the concerned mother bird. All of her children had already flown off to live their own lives- except one. The runt. Looking at her beautiful baby bird who could not seem to learn how to fly, she sighed. It was hopeless. She had tried to teach her over and over again, but she just didn't seem to get the hang of it. The storm was getting worse, and she knew if she didn't leave soon, their nest would be blown away. They were at the highest point she knew of, and once the water started falling, they would have to fly for days to find a higher point. A wave of sadness swept over her as she realized what she had to do._

"_But why Ma'?" protested the tiny, fluffy bird. "I'm not hungry. Besides, we should probably leave soon!" _

"_I-I… I'll have to go once more, okay? Just to be sure we have enough to eat." She managed a weak smile at the tiny bird, who in return smiled back. "Always remember that I love you, no matter what happens." _

"_Of course I will. I promise," she replied as she hugged her mother. Had she been older, she might have understood why her mother gently shook. "Gee, isn't it cold out?" She asked innocently._

"_I shouldn't leave. I can't leave. It wouldn't be right. I don't want to leave her," thought her mother as she held onto daughter. Her heart was beating so heavily that it hurt. Suddenly, she couldn't hold her tears back._

"_Gosh_ _ma', you don't gotta' cry." The tiny bird looked up at her, eyes full of genuine confusion. "I'm sure you'll find lots of food."_

_Kazooie watched her mother fly away, wondering why she was acting so strange. She had never cried over food before. "Don't forget, ma'," she called. "You'd better hurry! I still hafta' learn how to fly so I can catch up with everyone else!"_

_End flashback_

"Umm… Kazooie? Hey! Earth to Kazooie!" The King, a little unnerved by his friend's sudden, odd behavior, had begun waving his hand back and forth in front of her face. The empty look in her eyes worried him, which, despite being a King, was a rare emotion for him. "Kazooie, are you okay?"

"Huh?" mumbled Kazooie, finally snapping out of her daze. Finding his hand too close to her face for her liking, she swatted it away. "I'm fine! I was just… thinking." He simply raised an eyebrow, but decided to change the subject. Questioning her when she didn't want to be questioned was dangerous. He knew her temper was something to avoid at all costs.

"Anyway," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I'd better go see how we're doing with the clean-up. This house won't build itself, you know." He looked back at the pile of rubble and inwardly groaned.

"Well good luck. Maybe that lardy mole will come out and help you." At that, she continued down the path, talking to herself quietly. "Now where to go…"

The King stood watching her walk off, wondering what had got her so upset. If there was one thing that made him wonder, it was why Kazooie acted the way she did. "Banjo sure must have a lot of patience," he chuckled to himself. Now that he stopped to think about it, he didn't know much about her or Banjo. All he knew was that they were a great team that appeared at the right time and at the right place.

"Well, that sure was unlike Kazooie," commented a Jinjo who had overheard their conversation and also watched her walk off. He sniffed and looked up at the king.

"Yeah…" he replied, his eyes still following her. "But you know Kazooie- always changing moods." Yet he couldn't convince himself, and he too couldn't help but wonder what Kazooie had been thinking about.


	3. Cliff Top

Kazooie didn't know where to go. She stopped in front of the theme park, considering a visit, then thought better of it. "Nah… never was a fan of the circus- especially one run by an old hag." She turned to go back through the plateau. "Maybe I'll take the train somewhere if it's at the cliff station." But, when she walked through the door joining the plateau the cliff top, it wasn't there.

"Great," she groaned sarcastically. "Looks like I'm stuck here." Of course, she knew she could get the train to pick her up on demand, but didn't really feel up to it for some reason. So instead, she walked over to the edge of the cliff and plopped down, still grumpy. "Why do I have to put up with that stupid Tooty anyway?" she asked herself. She lay on her back, took a deep breath and tried to forget she was angry. No luck.

Banjo had told her that when she was angry, she should try to relax, to pretend she was somewhere else; somewhere she wanted to be. It helped sometimes, she would admit, though she never really could think of a place she absolutely wanted to be. She had never been somewhere that had totally made all her uncertainty drift away.

Finally, the cool breeze made it's way through her feathers and calmed her. She hummed softly and began to let her mind wander away from thoughts of Tooty. She thought about how lucky she was to have met Banjo, and even his annoying little brat sister, though that was another thing she'd never admit to. After all, Kazooie needed _someone_ to make fun of, which coundn't be Banjo. She respected him. Sure, he may be weird, and not exactly the smartest guy around, but he wasn't stupid. He was the only family and friend Kazooie had ever known. She owed him her life; without Banjo, there would be no Kazooie.

She lay there for a few minutes thinking, relaxing. "Guess I just don't realize how lucky I am. I hope Banjo is relaxing right now… I'm sure he needs a brake from me once in a while…" she frowned bitterly.

* * *

Banjo had just finished searching all over Spiral Mountain for Kazooie. He'd checked every possible hiding place he knew of and was starting to give up hope. "Kazooie always did win when we played hide n' seek," he thought. "If I were Kazooie, where would I hide?" Then it hit him; Kazooie wasn't in Spiral Mountain! She could be anywhere now the entrance to the Isle O' Hags was opened.

As he sat down to catch his breath, he thought of how much had changed since that fateful day Grundila was released from her prison under the boulder. The moment he had walked through the digger's tunnel, he knew things would never be the same again. It was a whole new world to both of them, and even though Banjo was not overly into action and adventure, he didn't regret a second of their journey.

"Well," he said, forcing himself up off the soft meadow grass. "I guess I've got a lot more searching to do than I planned. Kazooie could be on the other side of the island by now…" He trotted over to the tunnel and walked through.

As he made his way up the path to Jinjo Village, he noticed many of the Jinjos laying on the grass, panting heavily. King Jingaling stood talking to them, waving and swinging his hands through the air. "What on Earth?" he thought.

"C'mon, guys!" cried the exasperated Jinjo King. "Are you mice or men!?"

"Well… neither, really," stated a Jinjo, and laid down on one of the few remaining boulders to relax.

"Hmm… good point," replied the King as he thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "We 're at a bit of an impasse then, aren't we?"

"All of us working together can't lift this piece!" piped in another as he sat up and pointed to the boulder. "We've been at this forever, and we're tired!"

"Yeah!" they all cried in unison.

"Besides, you're just standing there!" said another frustrated Jinjo.

"Well… uhh, kinda funny that you mention that," stuttered Jingaling. He laughed nervously and looked around, unsure of what to say. Noticing Banjo, who was watching them from a distance, he quickly pointed to him. "Look, Banjo!"

The Jinjos took their attention off the King and towards Banjo. "Heyyyyy!" they called as they jumped to their feet and ran towards him. Grabbing him by the arms, they brought him over to the King.

"Look!" cried one of them. "Our hero has come to help!"

"Well, actually I-" started Banjo.

"BANJO, BANJO, BANJO!" chanted the group happily.

"Perfect! Thanks, Banjo," grinned the King. "You always show up at the right time." The crowd cheered and Jingaling breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he no longer had to deal with the upset group. All he wanted to do now was go back to his castle and sleep.

Banjo looked over the boulders and pieces of rock scattered around the area. This was _really_ going to take longer than he had planed.

When the area had been cleared, Banjo took a seat next to King Jingaling to catch his breath. "Wow, thanks Banjo," breathed the King as he looked over the sparkling clean area. "I didn't know you had it in you. You saved my tail big time! Being the King isn't always as easy it sounds, you know. These Jinjo can get pretty demanding."

"Yeah… I guess I kinda know what you mean," replied Banjo as he watched the Jinjos happily return to their homes, wishing he could do the same. "I don't suppose you've seen Kazooie come through here at all, have you?"

"Yepperz. She stopped in here just not too long ago. Kinda zoned-out, then took off that-a way," he stopped to point out the path she had taken. "Sure was acting weird, if you ask me."

"Well, I'd better get going then," he took a breath, then hopped to his feet and took off down the path. "C'ya later, Kingaling. And thanks," he called over his shoulder.

"It's Jingaling," sighed the King as he watched him run off.


	4. All alone

Kazooie had just drifted into a causal sleep when suddenly, a loud crash from somewhere up the cliff shook her awake. She jolted up and looked around. "What was that?" she asked. Slowly standing, she walked cautiously in the direction from where the noise had come. When she reached the cliff's corner, she peered around it and gasped. Sitting helplessly on the ground was a baby dragon. Noticing Kazooie peeking behind the corner, he looked up the cliff, whimpering. Following his gaze up to the very top of the cliff, she saw a huge nest on a ledge.

"Great…" sighed Kazooie. "So much for some time alone." She looked back to make sure no one was coming, then sat down beside it.

"Mama?" he wined looking at Kazooie, who in return, stifled back a laugh. One of his ears was much longer than the other, his fangs when abnormally far past its chin and his head seemed to be twice the size of the rest of his body. He watched her every move with increasing interest and delight.

"You must be a popular one," laughed Kazooie, wiping a tear away. "Wonder how you could have fallen…" She looked up to see a giant nest sitting on the top of the cliff rocking back and forth in the wind. "Seesh… that looks completely safe."

"Mama?" He smiled.

"Oh, I know where this is going! No, no, NO! I'm not you mom!" She turned on her heels, fully intending to return to her spot on the cliff to go back to sleep. "What am I supposed to do? Fly you back up there so you can fall again? Besides, I'm sure you can get back up there on your own if you really want up there so badly…" She turned to watch the bird attempt to lift itself off the ground, but fall back on the dirt. Seeing Kazooie watching him, he smiled and continued attempting to get up the cliff.

"Who am I kidding? It can't even fly yet…"

_The sky had only seemed to grow darker, but the tiny bird was still faithfully watching for her mother to come back. "I wonder what's taking her so long," she thought to herself. Small drops of water began to fall from the clouds to her small, already chilled body. She ruffled her feather impatiently. Hopping up on the edge of the nest, she peered down at the ground below her, then looked out across the sky. "She should be close by now… Ah ha!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a red flash. "MA!" she called. But the only reply that came was the sound of her own echo._

"_Ma? Where'd you go? M-"_

_A sudden gust of wind suddenly threw her off the ledge and sent her tumbling out of the nest. Her scream pierced the air as she was thrown the ground. "MAAA!!!" She closed her eyes, terrified of how high in the air she was. She could feel herself dropping quickly, quickly, and then…_

_SMASH!_

_An immense pain sprung from her chest as she landed with a thud on a tree stump. "I can't breathe. I must be dead," she decided senselessly. She lay there for a moment, fighting pain and slowly regaining her breath. After a moment, the pain wasn't as bad. Determination filled her thoughts when she remembered the red flash she had seen seconds ago, and with a great amount of trouble, she managed to force herself up into a sitting position. Her head pounded._

_Finally, when her headache eased a little and she thought that she'd be fine to go on looking, she hopped up and took a step when, much to her dismay, she heard a soft crack. A sharp, terrible pain flew through her leg causing her to fall back to the ground, shocked and terrified. She tried to scream, but all that came out of her mouth were heavy, deprived gasps for air. Looking down at her leg, she realized it might be broken. The pain was so great that all she could do was sit and clench her teeth. Tears were forcing their way through her squeezed-shut eyes and mixing with the rain._

_Rain began falling harder until it was hitting her so hard that her whole body hurt. Knowing that she needed to get out of the rain, she dragged herself painfully to the highest point she knew of and collapsed under a tree. Taking a leaf, she wrapped it gingerly around her leg and lay down, fighting the pain the best she could. Never before in her life had she been in so much pain, but the worst part was, now that such a moment had come, she was alone._

"_Ma… please find me…"_

* * *

"Kazooie! There you are!" Startled, she looked back to see Banjo rushing up the hill, out of breath. He looked frustrated, tired and concerned. "Kazooie where have you been? I've been looking everywhere!"

"B-Banjo?" she shuddered. "I… wha-"

"Who's that?" he asked, looking at the baby dragon behind her who was still continuing its seemingly hopeless method of flight.

"I-I… I dunno. It fell." She pointed up the cliff to the nest on the ledge. "Look, Banjo, sorry if I-"

"We'll talk about it in a minute. I'm going to take this little fella back up the cliff…" He looked up the cliff to see the nest swaying on the ledge and cringed. "But I think I'll leave him _beside _the nest."

Too dazed to object, or say anything else for that matter, she simply nodded and watched him place the creature in his backpack. He turned to look at her as he pulled the pack on again. "Stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes." And he was gone up the cliff.

Kazooie sighed and sat back down. She knew eventually she'd have to return home and face Banjo, but she didn't think he'd go after her. And she definitely hadn't expected him so suddenly to come running up the hill. She did feel bad for making him worry so much…

"Wait a minute! It's his fault!" she huffed, suddenly contradicting herself. "I didn't make him come after me! He should've known that I would come back." She crossed her wings and closed her eyes, trying to think of a good reason to be mad at him. "First of all, there was that time when he… uhh, no…" she tapped her head thoughtfully. "OH! What about when he… oh… no, that was my fault." Nothing came to mind. She growled and unfolded her wings.

"This is hopeless. I don't know what to say to him! He wouldn't understand… would he? What if he doesn't even remember? I mean, it's been a long time since we've talked about it. A really, really long time…"

* * *

_Kazooie awoke with the sun shining in her eyes. She let out a tired and sore groan. She was soaked and sore. Slowly, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. The past night events came back to her thoughts. Fearfully, she looked down at her leg. Sure enough, it was bruised and cut. Bravely, she removed the leaf to see how bad it was. After examining it carefully she decided, "It doesn't look broken… maybe I could try…" She slowly lifted herself off the ground and held onto the tree for support. It hurt, but it wasn't unbearable like yesterday. _

_Looking around for something to help her walk, she noticed a stick a few inches away. "Looks like it will work." Once in her hands, she hoisted herself up and took a deep breath. "Sure hope Ma is okay. That was quite a storm." For the first time, she looked around to find she didn't recognize the place. Nothing looked familiar. Water was everywhere, trees were broken- it was a mess. "Boy… things sure look bad. I wonder how I even survived that storm... and where am I?"_

_After a moment of though and observances, she limped down the hill to get a close up look at everything. She felt so small and helpless next to all the huge tree scattered around her. "C'mon, Kazooie," she told herself. "Be brave! You'll find her and everything will be back to normal!"_

_After a few hours of painfully limping, she stopped at a large pool. Small fish jumped in and out of the water. She watched the birds at the opposite end of the pool combing the soil for worms and felt her stomach growl. She hadn't eaten in quite a while. Carefully, she sat down. For once, everything looked beautiful and calm. "You'd never be able to tell a raging storm went through here only last night," she whispered as she took in the calm atmosphere. Looking down stream, she saw a waterfall with several colorful streaks hovering above it. They looked like they had been painted with water and they seemed to dance playfully over the pool._

"_I wonder what those are…" Curious, she picked herself up and carefully walked toward the edge of the cliff with her crutch. She got as close to the pool of water as she could and stood admiring the rainbows._

"_I've never seen anything like this before! They sure are pretty…" Before she realized she was leaning too close, she fell face-first into the water. The next thing she knew, she was underwater, fighting her way back to the surface. Pain shot through her as the currents dragged her through the water like a toy. Finally, after resurfacing, she looked around wildly for something to grab onto. Nothing._

"_HELP!" she screamed. She was getting dangerously closer to the falls. "Please! Somebody h-" Again, she was dragged underwater. Trying to kick was useless, so she began flapping her wings. They may have been tiny, but they were her only option. Furiously, she flapped them again and again, struggling to push herself up. She resurfaced just in time to see the waterfall suck her in and over the edge. Her stomach tuned as she was dragged over the falls. For a moment, she felt herself suspended in mid air, weightless; then a numb feeling overtook her. She almost didn't feel herself drop into the water. Again, she pulled her head above the water, gasping as air finally filled her lungs._ _But to her horror, another waterfall lay directly at the end of the pool. Closing her eyes, and holding herself tightly, she braced herself for the fall. Again, she felt the sick feeling... _

_Then everything went black._

_When she awoke, she was in a place that she didn't recognize. She had washed up on the grass beside a small, yet deep pool. The waterfall stood behind it, constantly pouring in more water._

_Slowly, she sat up, still feeling the pain in her leg, as well as a new stiffness in her wings. "Where am I?" It was like no place she had ever seen. She had been used to living on a mountain, or even in a forest, but this place was wide open with tall green grass everywhere. In the center of a pool that merged from the one she was currently sitting beside, a large, spiraled mountain stood tall and alone. A ladder leading to an odd-shaped mountain entrance attached to the top of it. A few trees stood out here and there, and a garden sat at the opposite end of where she was. "What a strange place…"_


	5. Remember when?

_Banjo hummed happily as he walked out his front door and closed it behind him. Slowly, he took a deep breath in. The crisp smell of a spring shower danced into his nose. He always loved the rain. After all, fresh water made doing dishes so much more enjoyable. "I'll be back in a minute or two," he called through the window. "I'm gonna' go get the dish water."_

"_Okay," came the soft, mumbled reply. His younger sister, Tooty, had just learned how to speak._

_He looked up the hill at the waterfall. He had talked with a fox earlier that day about the terrible storm that had just passed over the falls. "Good thing we only got some light rain," he thought to himself. "The water is sure pouring heavily over those falls."_

_As he walked up the hill, he thought about what to do for the day. Once the dishes were done, he'd have the whole day to whatever he wanted. Lately, though, there hadn't been much to do. He had seen everything and knew everything in Spiral Mountain there was to know. Except, that is, for the strange mountain entrance he had been warned about. He had always wondered what was in there, but was always too afraid to actually go in. Rumors of a terrible creature that lived inside the mountain were commonly told, though he still couldn't help but wonder what really was inside._

"_Oh well," he laughed to himself. "Maybe one day I'll know." He walked slowly up to the sparkling pool of water, admiring it for a moment then lowered his bucket in. He watched the water rush in and fill the bucket, then sat it down and looked back at the water. Without a second thought, he plunged his face into the water. Pryingly, he opened his eyes. Fish of all sorts of colors swam back and fourth, in circles, and some in no general direction at all. He admired the scene for a moment, then, looking up at the surface, something red caught his eye. Remembering that he could only hold his breath for so long, he brought his head back above the water. Tiny drops of water dripped from his fur, but he ignored them._

"_I wonder what…" he stopped mid-sentence, his answer floating in front of him._

"_Feathers?" he picked one up and gingerly twirled it in his fingers. It was a red-orange color with a golden tip, small and fuzzy. But still, it was a feather "I've never seen a feather like this before. I wonder why its on the water." He looked up again at the water, stroking his damp chin in thought. Crawling onto his paws and knees, he sniffed the air._

* * *

_Kazooie was terrified. Some sort of huge, furry creature had just come up to the pool of water where she had been only moments ago, and she was afraid that it knew she was there. "What would it do to me if it caught me? What if it eats me!!!" she thought, horrified. She peaked over the rock she had ducked behind. It wasn't there anymore._

"_Well… that's weird," she whispered. "I could have sworn I saw it just a second ago."_

_Sniff._

_She turned, terrified to see a shiny, black oval along side the rock she had taken shelter behind. She ducked around the rock, closed her eyes and held her breath._

"_You can come out," came a booming voice._

_There was __no__ way she was going out to face that thing. In an act of desperation, she ran the best she could manage. She didn't know where. All she knew was that she needed to get away. She scampered over a few piles of dirt, then straight into a patch of tall grass._

"_No, wait!" She didn't stop, as much as it hurt her leg. She ran through the grass until she found a small hole and collapsed into it, holding her damaged leg tenderly._

_Banjo looked over the grass. "I can't go in there! What if I step on her?" He sighed. "Please, come out. I know you're injured. I won't hurt you. I promise. I can help you, if you'll let me." He waited earnestly for a response. "Look, I know I scared you; I'm sorry. But if you need help, I live down in the little cabin across the other side of the field. I won't hurt you." He held his breath, but no response came._

_Realizing it was useless, he walked back towards the pond and picked up his bucket. Looking back at the tall grass, he thought to himself, "I sure hope she decides to come. I don't know how she'll survive around here." He shook his head. "For once I wish I wasn't so big. Then she wouldn't be so scared to let me help her. Maybe I should wait a while, and come back to look for her?"_

* * *

_Kazooie looked up at the dark sky. She was cold, and past hungry. She had been too afraid to move from her hole in the tall grass all day, and so had decided she would wait till dark to come out. Standing carefully, she limped to the edge of the grass and looked both ways before stepping out. Nothing._

_She stepped out a bit more and took a deep breath. It felt as though the grass had been suffocating her, and now she was free to breathe the intoxicating, fresh air. "But now what?" She thought about what that creature had told her. While she had been in the grass, she had thought about what he had said. He sounded nice enough, even though he was absolutely huge. And he was offering her something she needed. "A place to stay, food, water, safety… Should I trust it? What if he just wants to eat me?"_

_She sighed and looked across the field to the cabin the creature had told her about. Gentle lights flickered from the windows while a small jet of smoke billowed out of the chimney. It was small, but it looked cozy. She decided she had no choice but to go, although her conscience told her differently. Her leg wasn't getting any better, and she was afraid it would only get worse if it wasn't treated soon. She had no clue how to fix her wing or where to get food from, if she even had enough strength to find it in the first place. She decided to stay a day, as long as it was safe. Then, she'd continue looking for her mother the next night._

"_But what if its not safe?" Her conscience continued to unnerve her. She looked away from the house and thought about what her mother would have told her to do. She thought back to when her brothers and sisters had left the nest to go out on their own. "I remember mom telling them to never let anyone presume them as weak and defenseless… but that's just what I am!"_

_She sat there and thought out her plan for a few moments. "Well, I know I can't let him think I'm weak, even if it's true. I'm gonna' have to be straight to the point and mean if I need to. What else…" she paused and rubbed her cheek. "Boy, I can't wait till this is over and I find Ma."

* * *

_

Kazooie felt something small hit the back of her head. Flustered, she looked back to see a few pebbles rolling down the cliff side, then up to see Banjo cautiously sliding down the slope. His face didn't show any certain expression. But he did look tired.

She looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with him. In a matter of seconds, he was sitting beside her. He sat silent for a moment. When he spoke, he drew his words out carefully.

"So," he said at last. "How've you been?"

"_Oh, great Banjo. Really great, actually. Never felt better! How 'bout you?" _She bit her tongue. He wasn't good with this kind of stuff- but then again, neither was she. He got nervous and didn't know what to say; she lost her temper. It always ended badly.

"I'm sorry about what your mom did to you." He hadn't been getting an answer and knew he had to say something before he lost her completely. He didn't know what kind of response he would get, but he was positive anything would be better than the stinging silence currently hyping up his nerves.

"Yeah, well, whatever. It's not your fault." She refused to look at him, so focused her attention at the sunset. "_It's that late already?"_

"Kazooie, I know what it's like to loose a parent, I-"

"No," she shot back, finally looking at him. "You don't. Your parents passed away, mine abandoned me. Totally different. You don't have a clue what it's like to be left out in the cold all alone to fend for yourself. So don't act like you do!" She covered her break instantly. She hadn't meant to be so harsh towards him, but she couldn't hold her tongue any longer. Her muscles relaxed and she slumped back a bit. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I… I didn't mean it that way."

"I know. It's fine."

He knew she hadn't meant it. After all, she had been living with him for years and he had grown accustomed to her sudden outbursts. If there was one thing he had learned, it was never to take what she said personally.

There was a moment of silence. "You know what that feeling is like; I know." Kazooie hadn't known what to say after that, so sat silently waiting for him to speak. She didn't expect what she heard next.

"What are you laughing about!" She watched him cover his mouth, then shake his head, obviously trying his best to stop. _"And they say I'm hard to understand!"_

Restraining himself from laughing anymore, he looked up at her, still slightly chuckling. "Remember the day we first met? When you came to the cabin saying you'd take me up on my offer?"

Looking away, her expression softened. She too, laughed a bit. "Yeah… I remember that…"

* * *

_Banjo sat on his kitchen chair, unsure of what to say. He watched as a small, strange red bird pecked at the pieces of bread he had put of for her. Of course, she wouldn't even let him come near her. She still wouldn't trust him, which was frustrating for him. He was used to everyone trusting him. He wouldn't say that, though. It would probably confuse her._

_Tooty sat across the table, watching the tiny creature with big eyes. She had begged and begged Banjo to let her touch it. He had simply explained that they had to earn her trust. That didn't, however, stop the longing look in her eyes._

"_Banjo," she whispered. "Red bird. Pretty red bird."_

_Ignoring his sister's comment, he cleared his throat nervously. "Do you… have a name?"_

_She continued pecking at her food, not even bothering to look up. He continued shyly. "I'm Banjo. My sister's name is Tooty. Please don't be startled by her. She's just very fascinated with your…" he paused to look for the right word._

"_FEATHERS!!" Tooty jumped up and dashed towards the shocked bird. Reacting on instinct, Kazooie scampered across the room without hesitation, and hide behind the chair, now in more pain then before from reapplying pressure to her leg._

"_You had better stay away!" She called in her bravest voice, doing her best to cloak the pain with mock courage._

"_Tooty! Stop it!" Banjo chased after her, desperate to make her sit back down. She ran around the room, giggling._

"_Birdie! Birdie! Where's the birdie?" She ducked behind the chair and gasped dramatically. "Found the birdie!" Clumsily, she grabbed at Kazooie, who squawked and hobbled to the other side of the room. She looked in every direction, and finally noticed what looked like a tall, misshapen tree. But instead of leaves, there were colorful pieces of cloth and other strange looking things at the top._

"_Birdie! Birdie?" Kazooie gulped, hopped carefully up the coat hanger and dropped into a soft, blue pack. Tooty, oblivious to the bird's new hiding spot, continued looking around the room for her. Kazooie listened as Banjo picked the little bear up and walked out of the room. A door opened and closed, then everything was silent._

_For moment, she considered falling asleep right then and there, but thought better of it. She liked the feeling of the bag, and the blue color reminded her of the blue sky that had surrounded the nest she had lived in. It made her feel safe and secure. As for the bear, she couldn't quite say the same. "He must have seen me crawl up here. Great. If one is bad, the other must be worse." She paused for a moment. "But he did say… well, contradicting myself isn't going to help, now." She slowly sat up and peaked over the top. He was standing in the middle of the room, looking in her direction._

"_You can come out. She's not here anymore."_

_She sank back down into the sack. "No. I'm fine in here." She paused, thinking through what to say next. "I'm only staying until I'm better."_

"_But you're hurt!" She could hear him walking towards her. "Just come out long enough for me to fix your leg."_

"_No." She took a deep breath and waited._

"_Just let me look. Your wing looks a little rough, too." She felt the walls around her stretch and move. She peaked out and felt as he put the bag on the table, the fabric forming in uneven pools around her. "Come out, please." Hesitantly, she crawled out. The thought of no longer being in pain justified her conscience, so she figured she would at least try. She crouched down carefully on the table._

"_Can I see it?" She could feel him looking down at her, but didn't want to look back. She slowly unfolded her wing and watched as he fingered it gently. It surprised her that something so big could be so gentle. He set her wing gingerly back to her side, and then looked over her tiny leg. He turned away for moment, returning with a small piece of cloth and an honey colored container. She peered into it uneasily._

"_Wh- what's that?" As if on cue, it let off a terrible smell. She made a face. "You're not putting that on me." For the first time, she looked up at him. He was unfolding the cloth and spreading the ointment from the container on it. His face didn't show any expression, and he was ignoring her, something she wasn't use to and didn't know how to handle. It felt awkward, and she very much disliked it. Doing the only thing she thought felt right, she repeated herself._

"_I said, you're not putting that on my wing."_

"_I know it smells bad, but it helps. My mom used put it on me, and it always worked."_

"_There are __more__ of them!" She thought nervously. "Where is she?" She looked around nervously, half expecting something to jump out at her._

"_Not here. She… she's gone." He picked up the bandage and attempted to place it on her leg._

_She jerked it away. Instantly, she wished she hadn't, but remembering that she didn't want to look weak, continued her questioning. "When will she be back? What about your father?"_

_He sighed. Sitting down, he explained that his parents had died from a sickness a few years ago. "It came in through a flock of wild geese. I don't know what it was or how they got it, but some of the other animals caught it, too. I was the only one in my family who didn't. My sister survived, but it hit my parents hard. They weren't even sick for two days, and they were gone." He swallowed hard, but changed the subject. "I trust this stuff with my life. Please, just try it."_

_She felt ashamed for being so stubborn, and decided that she would listen. She felt bad for him. Maybe he understood how she felt. "But he'll never see his parents again. At least I know I can find my Ma." Slowly, she held out her wing and watched as he wrapped it tenderly with the cloth. It stung, but it had felt worse. He tied it, then wrapped another around her leg. When he was done, he sat back in his chair._

"_Are you still hungry?"_

"_No." She had eaten as much as she could before that… crazy thing had tried to attack her._

"_So are you going to tell me your name?"_

_The question caught her off guard a little. "Is it safe?" She wondered._

"_Kaz. Just, uh, call me Kaz." She looked behind her at the blue back on the table. "What is that?"_

"_It's called a backpack. You put your arms through the sides and it stays on your back. Really handy." He stood and put it on to demonstrate. "See? You can put things in it and carry them around."_

"_It's nice." He took it off and set it back on the table. Remembering the bottle of ointment on the counter, he picked it up and put it away in the cupboard. When he turned back, she wasn't on the table. "Hey! Where'd you go?" He noticed a bump in the backpack. "I don't remember having anything in there," he thought. He reached out and poked it._

"_Hey! Watch it!" He chuckled._

"_Comfy in there?"_

"_Yeah. I'll just stay in here till I'm feeling better, then I'll be on my way."_

"_Are you sure? I think you should stay until your leg is healed. And we have more comfortable places to stay than a backpack, you know."_

"_No. The backpack is fine and I'll stay till I feel I'm ready to leave."_

_He picked the backpack up gently and hung it back up on the coat hanger. She peaked her head out. "Umm…" she looked away then continued. "Thanks. For everything. You can call me Kazooie. Just don't tell anyone that's my name."_

_He looked at her, slightly confused. "Didn't she just tell me to call her Kaz?" He shook his head._

"_What are you shaking your head for?!" she demanded._

"_Yeesh, she's gonna take a while to get used to." "Nothing," he paused to look up at her nervously. "Kazooie."

* * *

_

Banjo looked over at his friend. "You know, Kaz, you never mentioned leaving again after that day. When you realized that she abandoned you… you just never brought up leaving or anything to do with her again. But I knew it's always been something that hurt you."

She closed her eyes and let Banjo's words thread through her mind. Slowly, she replied. "Well, I guess I just wanted to forget about it the best I could." She looked away. "It doesn't matter, anyway."

"Yes, it does." He looked her sternly in the eye. "You've gotta' forgive her."

Normally, she simply would have told him that he was crazy and informed him that she wouldn't be caught dead doing any such thing. But something in his voice made her think twice, something she didn't do too often. She looked at him, almost gawking. Then, with that one simple look, she realized something.

"You're right." It was said so plainly and simply that he couldn't believe that she had said it. He had already braced himself for the blast he'd expected to get from her, and when it didn't come, he didn't know how to react.

"I am?" He felt an odd quiver run through his spine. _"I am!"_

"Banjo, as much as I hate what she did to me… I'm tired of that being one of the main causes of my stupid anger problems. Heck, probably the only reason. Besides Tooty, that is. Ever since day one…" She laughed lightly to herself. "I don't want to even think about forgiving her after leaving me like that. Everything is her fault, after all…" She looked back at Banjo and relaxed a bit when he smiled reassuringly. "But it will take a while. And if you tell anyone about it,"

"I'm dead."

"You bet," she replied with a smirk. It was odd to have such a conversation. He had never heard her surrender her feelings so willingly. But he knew he had to ask one last, very important question.

"Kaz?"

"What?"

"Can we go home now?" He stifled a yawn.

"Only if you plan on carrying me back." He nodded his head, seeming to think over the terms of agreement. "And one more thing."

"Yeah."

"If you don't hide that coffee from your dangerous, annoying, psychotic sister, you're going to be suffering way worse then me."

Banjo couldn't help but smile as Kazooie jumped into his backpack. He knew he'd be getting an ear full from her all the way back home, but he was just glad to have her back to normal. Sort of.

Kazooie, on the other hand, enjoyed a few moments of something she never though she would feel.

"_A place where all your uncertainties drift away. Ironic; I've been there almost all my life._" She looked down at the backpack she was currently sitting in and smiled at the feeling only she could understand. _"Who would'a guessed?"_


End file.
